The Archers by Joanna Toye, 0563557141, Lowest Book Price Finder

Customer Reviews:

A potted history of life in Ambridge (1987-2000)

As an occasional listener to the answers (if I'm in the car I hear it) I have caught bits and pieces over the years and built up enough of an understanding of the series and its characters that when I saw this book in the offload section of W H Smith I bought it to fill in some of my missing background. Immediately helpful was the family tree at the start of the book and this explained the relationship between the various characters. Joanna Toye (one of the writers for the radio series) has done a good job with the narrative, abridging it smartly such that the thirteen plus years are covered swiftly and concisely but without rushing the reader through the story. I found myself drawn into the lives and loves of Ambridge and was surprised at how many episodes I remembered from the radio (and over how long a period of time). I would describe this book as of great value to the occasional listener and no doubt of interest to the Archers fan, though presumably they've heard it all before!

Great for new Archers fans!

This was an excellent introduction to the family history of The Archers as I have only been listening 'full-time' for a couple years. I will be buying the next two to really get up to date as it has already enhanced my enjoyment of listening to current broadcasts as I now have the background story to relate it to. In addition this is a wonderful piece of storytelling in its own right - Miriam reads it beautifully and allows the listener into the characters and their world.

Great book for late comers into the Archers seen

This book is great for people like me who only came into the Archers seen in the last five years. It describes in great detail the events leading up to Phil marrying Grace, and her death, and even more interestingly, Phil and Jill's courtship and marrage. I think this book is essencial for people who want to know what happened before they cam onto the Archers seen, as when references are made to the past in the soap you know what they are on about!

Nicely done once more but...

As with the other two volumes in this set, the amount of plot to get through is staggering and yet compellingly written. These stories I'm more familiar with from the program and the adaptation is strong and recalls the show without harming the novelization's flow.

My only complaint is that this volume leaves us short of the 50th anniversary events in Ambridge. Hopefully there will be one more short volume recounting the "Inheritance" storyline.

Still, a wonderful read.

Compelling story with fascinating detail.

All the books in this trilogy are brilliant but Joanna Toye's really excelled herself with 'Back To The Land' which covers the years 1987-2000. It's compelling in its story and fascinating in recalling the detail of 'The Archers' plotlines from the past thirteen years. Having said that, it could stand alone as a great read even if you're not a fan of the Radio 4 soap - It's just a pity we've got to wait for another few years to pass before there can be another volume.

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